Abbott blasts today's TV

TOP TV shows have been blasted as “diluted, half baked porridge” by one of the nation’s leading writers. Manchester-based Paul Abbott slammed some of the most popular shows - including Holby City, Casualty and the Bill – and described the creators of many small screen hits as “dull and lazy”.

TOP TV shows have been blasted as “diluted, half baked porridge” by one of the nation’s leading writers.

Manchester-based Paul Abbott slammed some of the most popular shows - including Holby City, Casualty and the Bill – and described the creators of many small screen hits as “dull and lazy”.

Mr Abbott, who used to write for Coronation Street, also criticised soaps as “blubber” and likened US TV censors to Nazis.

The writer - the man behind television hits Shameless, Clocking Off and State of Play - said that despite attracting millions of viewers many shows simply filled the airwaves by stretching out plots.

He said: “Storylines are thinned out for no good reason. Quite often, it’s four hours of drama crammed into 26 episodes.

“We only do long order shows that are diluted, half-baked porridge.”

In a frank interview the 47-year-old added: “Writers in Britain don’t talk to each other. They’re the most mealy-mouthed bunch of misanthropists. They’re like hobbits. I can’t bear it.”

BBC1 medical dramas Casualty and Holby City each attract an average weekly audience of around seven million viewers.

BBC

In response to Mr Abbott’s remarks a BBC spokeswoman said: “We have no comment to make.”

And it wasn’t just television and writers who were targeted during Mr Abbott’s outburst.

He criticised the American censors who control what can be said in a planned US version of Shameless which he is currently adapting.

“I’ve Americanised the first script. What you can and can’t say on TV in America is really dangerously constrained by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) – that’s Nazism. I’ve never seen anything so brutal in all my life.

You can show somebody taking three heads off with a gun but you can’t imply a sexual scene involving a 14-year-old boy with high testosterone. I don’t mean showing anything, just imply.

Cope with it

That’s just wrong. If we can cope with it in real life, why isn’t it on telly? Who’s telling the lie? We want it to go out on mainstream TV. I bet it won’t but I’d like to put up a fight and at least try to nudge that wall back a bit.”

Mr Abbott concluded that TV should aspire to be the same standard as his own award-winning programme and added: “I want telly like that every week. I watch every episode about 28 times, because you’re editing.

"But when it goes out on TV, it’s, ‘Oh, wow, Shameless is on.’ I feel like a viewer and I’m surprised by the storylines. I’m really proud it’s on our telly. I could fill the storylines for 30 years.”

Best-known for creating life on the Chatsworth estate for Wythenshawe-based series Shameless, Paul, sold his first radio play at the age of 20 and wrote on top dramas such as Cracker and Linda Green.

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